Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-02-28
THE WOMEN OF CAPE COD.
Beautiful Creatures at sixteen and
Old and Haggard At 1hirty---The
Reason Why


IF there was ever bIieh.ed race of
women, said New York gentleman
| recently returned from visit TO Cap Cod.
TO Nal and Express reporter. lit ex>
lists in the peninsular villages of Mass
aehusetts. which depend on the fisheries
for the support of their Inhabitants
Nowhere else in all New England will
| one ever see so high an AVERAGE of female
beauty. especially in symmetry of form
| and freshness of complexion; but it VIII
not take long to discover that this girIish
| beauty and freshness. while unusual and
unexpected, is also in its duration very
brief The change produced in these
girls by the lapse of few years is pain
| full to observe. No matroniy graces are
to be seen among them after their gill
hood days are past. That charming
| middle stage Of maturing womaBhood.
between the freshness and buoyancy of
The girl of twenty and the woman Of
thirty five or forty. is entirely absent.
TIE heightened color of the cheeks is
gone. The eyes are suuken, aud wear 8
constant look of sadness and anxiety.
Gray hair in he.d over which score
| and half of years have scarcely passed.
| and deep lines in faces which should show
no trace OF age for years to come. are
rather the rule than the exception. These
women, besides suffering from all the
| inevitable sorrows which fall 10 the
| 9omans lot. no matter in what station
she may be placed. have an added ia,
| upI al ha.
Theirs is life of continual suspense and
| anxiety. which is almost certain in time
| to be embittered by an overwhelming
grief.
The most obtuse. observer needs not
ask the cause of this lack of complete
matronly beauty among these women,
whose budding days open with the greats
est prom Sc Of a superb physical woman =
hood. The cause suggests itself at once
to one who sees the the congregations of
women on the beaches and in the quiet
streets Of the sleepy villages. He will
| occasionally notice feeble old man
among them, generally supported gu the
arm of some female companion, who.
most likely. carries on her other arm
chubby faced child of lusty Lungs But
in these groups, or anywhere around the
village the observer will look 10 vain for
the presence Of males between the totter>
| ing years Of these relics Of the past and
the prattling days of babyhood Ii is
the fishing season and there are no men
or bows on shore Their smacks are
| tossing on the treacherous waters Of the
| fishing banks and their return, if they
return at all, is as uncertain as the
| weather, which forms the one great sub
Ject Of conjecture and apprehension
among the villagers Husbands. snDs,
| fathers, brothers and sweethearts are
some where out on the bosom Of the sea.
prnhably hnmeward bound perhaps steer
ING for still more distant waters, perhaps
! struggling for life among the waves
Fair weather keeps hope warm in many
an anxious w0man's heart, the howl.
ing uJriheastrr fills it WITH doubt and
iespsir Constantly watching by day,
waking in the night to listen to sounds
from the sea, whether they may he the
roaring Of the dreaded tempest or merely
the moan OF the surf on the beach. is II
ANY gundcr that the torture Of mind aud
heart. aud the strain of nerve and Wits;
force that must follow this perpetual ssls
pense and longing destroy the fountains
Of youth and beauty IN these patient suf-
fering women. and place upon them the
marks of age while they are yet young?
Yet the girls grow mp with but one
thought OF what their future lot viii be.
with but one object in view upon which
their visions Of happiness are based. Go
among any group Of these bright girls. 10
any Of the villages Of the class | am
speaking Of, and You viii fad that niue
OCT OF ten of them look forward to a
union .ith some one who will spend his
life fishing in the summer and coasting
in the winter The idea that there
might be any other future than the one
which is 20 come to them as fishermen'S
| wives. or that the life Of fisherman s
wife is anything different from the natur
al sequence Of married life, never seems
| TO occur.